Jon Jones Explains His Casual Cocaine Use: “I Just Like to Have a Good Time, Man”

Out of all the “incidents” that have happened to former UFC champion Jon Jones, testing positive for cocaine a month before his January 2015 fight with Daniel Cormier was probably the most embarrassing. The fight went ahead as planned, since cocaine is not considered a banned out-of-competition substance by the World Anti-Doping Agency. Jones won the fight, news of his failed drug test leaked out, and so he did what any famous person busted for drugs does — he went to rehab. For 24 hours. And checked himself out the next day.

It was just another black mark in a long list of public embarrassments and questionable decisions. There was a DUI arrest in 2012, a press conference brawl with Cormier in 2014, a hit-and-run incident in 2015, and a failed drug test just days before he was supposed to headline UFC 200 in 2016, which resulted in him being pulled from the event entirely.

Jones’ suspension for that last incident recently finished, and the UFC wasted no time booking him for a rematch against Cormier at UFC 214 on July 29. He doesn’t really sound like he’s learned any lessons though, judging by these remarks he made in a recent Bleacher Report feature.

“As far as me doing coke before a fight, that’s not me trying to be a bad guy. That’s me frickin’ doing a bump—you know, at a party. The truth of the matter is, you’d be surprised how many people have done coke. I’ve been around some of the greatest athletes in the country. Athletes with a lot bigger names than me do coke. But people don’t talk about it.

“I just like to have a good time, man,” Jones says. “If you can afford to smoke a little weed, and do a little coke, and still win world titles, who’s to tell you you can’t? I understand these things are illegal. And once you get caught doing it, it’s humiliating. But at the same time, I’m not an addict or anything like that. You don’t see me walking around weighing f**king 100 pounds with my teeth rotting out and scabs all over my face.”

UFC 214 is two weeks away. Someone please lock Jones in a gym without any drugs for the next 14 days so that MMA fans can finally see Jones vs. Cormier 2. UFC president Dana White had previously said that Jones would never headline another pay-per-view because he’s too unreliable, but he obviously caved and stuck Jones in the main event for UFC 214. Here’s hoping Jones doesn’t blow the opportunity to get his career back on track — again.